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Wednesday, February 19, 2020

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INDEX
Vol. CXXIX, No. 72
©2020 The Michigan Daily

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A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 A

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The Ann Arbor City Council 
voted 
to 
terminate 
City 
Administrator Howard Lazarus 
without 
cause 
on 
Tuesday 
night, effective Feb. 29. 
The 
resolution 
to 
fire 
Lazarus, 
sponsored 
by 
Councilmembers Jack Eaton, 
D-Ward 4, and Jane Lumm, 
I-Ward 2, passed with a 7-4 
vote. The resolution approves 

a 
separation 
and 
release 
agreement 
guaranteeing 
a 
severance of one year’s salary, 
amounting to $223,600, and an 
additional lump sum of $1,000. 
The agreement also states that 
neither Lazarus nor the city will 
disparage or make comments 
that reflect negatively upon the 
other party.
Lazarus opened the meeting 
with a statement reflecting on 
his almost four years serving as 
Ann Arbor’s city administrator. 
He thanked the council and 

community members for the 
opportunity to serve and spoke 
about what he believes to be the 
four pillars of public service: 
purpose, respect, health and 
joy.
“We’ve accomplished many 
significant efforts; in addition 
to preserving and protecting 
the 
tremendous 
quality 
of 
life that we have in Ann 
Arbor, much of what we do 
is unnoticed, and that is the 
nature of the job we’ve chosen,” 
Lazarus said. “We may also 

never know the extent to which 
we positively impact the lives of 
people in our community.”
During 
public 
comment, 
multiple Ann Arbor residents 
addressed the upcoming vote 
on 
Lazarus’s 
termination. 
Dan Michniewicz, a candidate 
for City Council to represent 
Ward 5, said the firing was 
motivated by politics rather 
than motivated by concern for 
the public good. 

U.S. 
Rep. 
Debbie 
Dingell, 
D-Mich., 
Ann 
Arbor 
Mayor 
Christopher Taylor and multiple 
Ann Arbor City Council members 
gathered 
on 
Tuesday 
for 
a 
Representative Roundtable hosted 
by the University of Michigan 
Central Student Government. 
CSG President Ben Gerstein, 
Public Policy junior, introduced 
the panelists and led the panel 

with 
a 
series 
of 
questions 
regarding 
student 
involvement 
in the November 2020 elections. 
Approximately 
25 
people 
participated in the interactive Q&A 
session with the politicians in the 
Michigan Union.
Dingell 
touched 
on 
the 
importance of voting and praised 
the Big Ten Voting Competition 
from 2018, reiterating the impact 
that voting can make.
“I’ve just talked to most of you 
about a lot of issues you care about,” 
Dingell said. “Your vote makes 

a difference. President Trump 
won this state by a very narrow 
margin of the popular vote. If more 
students had voted … it might have 
made a difference, and people need 
to know your vote matters.”
In anticipation of the November 
elections, panelists described what 
they are doing to mobilize student 
voters. Taylor discussed ways 
college students can vote, including 
absentee ballots and additional 
voting locations to make voting 
more convenient for students.
“Our goal is to also have 

on-campus locations where we 
can have staff members there to 
provide in-person, absentee access 
for student voters for weeks in 
advance of the election,” Taylor 
said. “Our goal is to enhance 
the student vote this November, 
just from the municipal side, 
communicate absentee, in-person 
absentee 
… 
make 
sure 
that 
students know that that’s going to 
be available on campus and then 
increase throughput at precincts.”
Most cooks discard pepper 
tops and stems as unusable 
food 
scraps. 
For 
campus 
chefs 
Russ 
Palmer, 
Tony 
Picinotti and Frank Turchan, 
however, these scraps had 
hidden potential to become 
hummus served at a buffet 
dinner Tuesday night. 
The 
WasteLESS 
event 
featured 
dishes 
with 
recycled 
ingredients 
and 
a panel to inform roughly 
40 
attendees 
on 
food 
waste 
and 
preventative 
practices. 
According 
to 
Claire 
Prenevost, 
Planet 
Blue 
Student 
Leader 
and 
LSA senior, the event was a 
joint collaboration between 
MDining, Planet Blue Student 
Leaders and the University of 
Michigan Sustainable Food 
Program. 
“It’s really just a natural 
pairing of people being able 
to sit down and then gain 
more in-depth information 
from people that have more 
experience in their career and 
personal 
lives,” 
Prenevost 
said. “Then (they will) be able 
to take that information and, 
as consumers, apply it in their 
everyday lives.”

After the City of Ann Arbor 
placed Police Chief Michael 
Cox on administrative leave 
earlier 
this 
month, 
the 
Independent 
Community 
Police Oversight Commission 
hosted a community forum 
to 
discuss 
Cox’s 
leave. 
Approximately 50 community 
members and city leaders 
attended 
the 
meeting 
on 
Tuesday night in Ann Arbor 
City Hall. 
Commission 
Chair 
Lisa 
Jackson began the meeting 
with a statement about the 
situation, noting the lack 
of public information. She 
confirmed 
Cox 
was 
not 
placed on leave as a result 
of any sexual harassment-
related claim. Jackson said 
the 
investigation 
should 
conclude 
Thursday 
and 
the 
ICPOC 
will 
hold 
a 
special committee meeting 
sometime at the end of the 
week to update the public 
and allow for comments and 
questions. 
Many community members 
commented on the damage 
done to Cox’s public image by 
being placed on leave.

Suzanne 
Anglewicz, 
research 
attorney 
for 
the 
Institute 
for 
Legislative 
Action division of the National 
Rifle Association, began her 
seminar 
by 
acknowledging 
opposition to the NRA on 
college campuses: “Disagree 
with us, but at least disagree 
with us on the facts.”
On 
Tuesday 
night, 
the 
University’s chapter of College 
Republicans hosted a seminar 
in partnership with Anglewicz 
to discuss the NRA, gun 
control debate and the Second 
Amendment. 
NRA 
University, 
an 
interactive 
presentation 
on 
gun rights, was founded in 
2008. Anglewicz said NRA 
U’s mission is to educate 
college youth on the gun 
control debate and Second 
Amendment, 
as 
well 
as 
clarify misinformation about 

the NRA. About 45 students 
gathered in the Michigan 
League to hear Anglewicz’s 
presentation. 
The NRA currently has 
nearly five million members. 
Anglewicz 
addressed 
the 
distinction 
between 
the 
lobbying body of the NRA and 
the rest of the NRA’s work 
with education and safety 
training. Anglewicz said the 
NRA annually trains more 
than one million civilians 
about gun safety and has 
more than 125,000 firearm 
instructors nationwide. 
“We are not the lobby 
for gun manufacturers and 
dealers,” Anglewicz said. “We 
are a non-profit, civil rights 
organization 
that 
serves 
people.” 

While 
Anglewicz 

highlighted 
the 
education 
efforts by the NRA, political 
lobbying by the NRA has been 
at the forefront of national 
news.

Students, 
chefs talk
no-waste 
lifestyle

CAMPUS LIFE

Municipal official forced out of position in 7-4 vote, bids farewell to colleagues 

Residents 
question 
leave of 
Chief Cox

ANN ARBOR

ANGELINA LITTLE
Daily Staff Reporter

See CHIEF, Page 3A

AYSE ELDES
Daily Staff Reporter

Panel, dinner brings 
focus to environmentally 
friendly eating habits

Ind. Community Police 
Oversight Commission 
fields AAPD concerns

EMMA RUBERG
Daily Staff Reporter

National Riffle Association hosts 
seminar on fiream rights at ‘U’

NRA Univ. 
looks at role
of guns, 2nd 
Amendment

Central Student Government hosts 
roundtable with local politicians

Debbie Dingell, Chris Taylor join City Council members for discussion

CALLIE TEITELBAUM
Daily Staff Reporter

See ROUNDTABLE, Page 3A

See ADMINISTRATOR, Page 3A

REMY FARKAS
Daily Staff Reporter

MADDIE FOX/Daily
Congresswoman Debbie Dingell answers questions from students at the Central Student Government Representative Roundtable at the Union Tuesday afternoon.

statement

See NRA, Page 3A

A2 Council fires City Administrator 
Howard Lazarus without cause

MICHAEL BAGAZINSKI/Daily
City Administrator Howard Lazarus, right, speaks at the beginning of the City Council meeting Tuesday evening at City Hall. 

See FOOD, Page 3A

